


Nobody Worry 'Bout Me

by CJ_R



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Male Friendship, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 08:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20005465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_R/pseuds/CJ_R
Summary: Dan owes Lucifer an apology - and he knows it.





	Nobody Worry 'Bout Me

Dan didn’t think it was an exaggeration to say that Lucifer was all but dancing into the precinct. 

The man’s face seemed to be lit from within as he bounced down the main staircase, a word and a smile for everyone he passed. Almost literally everyone – it took him a good fifteen minutes to make his way from the staircase over to the forensics lab, his joy infectious.

“Hey, Espinoza!” Detective Randle smiled at Dan as she dropped a file onto his desk, having just been the recipient of Lucifer’s attention. Her face was glowing with pleasure.

Dan picked up the file. “Hey.” He nodded in Lucifer’s direction, where he was having another conversation with one of the admin staff. “He’s in a good mood.” 

Randle arched her brows. “Impressive detective skills there,” she teased.

“Oh, shut it.” Dan scowled. 

She shook her head while smirking. “Anyway – that’s the Jones-Bridge murder suicide paperwork. It’s going to need a write-up, but other than that we’re done. It’s not like we can put a dead guy on trial.”

“Well, that’s good news at least.” Dan flipped open the manila file even as his eyes darted past Randle, keeping an eye on Lucifer’s position in the room.

“Dan, look. I know you’re still mad, but seriously.” She shifted her weight slightly to catch Dan’s eyes with hers. “Leave the man alone if you can’t say anything nice. Or if not nice, polite.” 

He let out a breath that he tried to pretend wasn’t a sigh. “I’m not mad.”

His fellow detective just waited, letting him sit with silence for a moment before, “Could have fooled me. New development?”

His chair creaked as he leaned back in it. “Just…yeah. Yeah, I guess.”

“Oh, good.” Randle smiled at him – a genuine smile that lit her eyes. “About time.” She glanced over to where Lucifer had stopped to chat with Ella outside of the lab. “You planning to man up and apologize?” 

A deep breath in. Then out. “Not gonna get easier if I wait.” 

“True enough. Well, I’ll go ahead and disappear. I’ve got a date tonight and that means I gotta blow through my backlog and Miller’s, since we’re switching shifts.” She grinned.

“You’re going all out,” Dan observed, ignoring the sharp, familiar twinge of memory in his gut of Charlotte waiting at her glass table with two containers of takeout and a bottle of wine. Or, an older memory, of Chloe having arranged for Trixie to spend the night at her mother’s for the evening – too many dates that he’d come home late for. Or missed altogether.

“I’ve got the babysitter ready to go, reservations at the restaurant and I’m switching off my phone.” Said phone was in her hand as she checked it for messages quickly before sliding it away. “Speaking of which, looks like there’s a body. My partner is already there, so I’d better go.” 

Dan shook off the memories and tilted his head. “Sounds like it. You and Karen have fun tonight.” 

Randle waggled her eyebrows. “I intend to stuff my face full of pasta and wine. I can run it off tomorrow.” She waved. “See ya!”

He lifted two fingers in a small wave before tossing the file into his ‘to do’ pile. The dead weren’t going anywhere, and Lucifer was now talking to Ella just outside the forensics lab. If he had to have a witness, he’d rather it be Ella than anyone else. 

He stood up and crossed the room, listening carefully for their conversation. He couldn’t make what he’d done to Ella better, but he could show her that he’d listened to her and taken her advice. It was the very least he could do.

“…it was very good, you should try it sometime,” Lucifer was saying.

Ella grinned. “You always say that.”

“And I’m always right.”

“You know, one of these days, I’m gonna have to return the favor,” she teased, tossing her ponytail back as she rested one hand on her hip, looking up into Lucifer’s face.

“Miss Lopez!” Lucifer grinned. “I’m intrigued,” his voice dropping into bedroom territory. Dan resisted rolling his eyes.

Ella rolled her eyes at him anyway. “I think you’d enjoy it.”

“I’m sure I would.” The teasing, sexual overtones were still there, in contrast to the expression on his face. Lucifer’s smile was wide, his eyes soft as he looked down into Ella’s upturned face, their stance far closer to siblings than anything else.

Dan steeled himself. “Lucifer?”

The easy tableau froze, and Dan could feel his stomach sink as Lucifer immediately straightened, the easy smile gone and the light in his eyes suddenly turned guarded. “Ah, Daniel. Well, Miss Lopez, I should really be going. I’m sure the Detective has something for me to do.”

Ella glanced at Dan, eyebrows ever so slightly arched. “Actually…I’ve got some, um, you know. Petri…dishes. To clean. Yeah. Y’know. Totally like, don’t want to grow zombie plague in here!” She started backing into the lab itself. 

Lucifer wrinkled his nose just a fraction, eyes narrowed as they both watched Ella retreat. “Actually – “ 

“Lucifer, do you have a minute?” Dan interrupted him. “I – I wanted to talk to you.” 

The other man squared his shoulders. “I see.” His face was smooth, seemingly unconcerned except that Dan caught the twitch of his fingers as Lucifer resisted the urge to straighten his cufflinks. “Yes? What is it?”

“I owe you an apology.”

Lucifer blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

Dan took a deep breath. “You were right. Charlotte…it wasn’t your fault.”

The dam was broken, and the rest of the words came easier in the face of Lucifer’s blank stare. “I’ve been treating you like crap ‘cause - because it was easier. To blame you than to just deal with the fact that she’s gone.” 

“Daniel,” Lucifer began to speak, the words more breath than sound, but Dan held up a hand and Lucifer quieted.

“And yeah, maybe you should have said something earlier about Pierce, but you didn’t kill her. Pierce did.” He took a shuddering breath. “And…I know you miss her too.”

It was rare to see Lucifer truly shocked, but his lips were parted slightly, his eyes wide and shining with an openness that was as rare as his uninhibited joy. “Daniel, I – “ 

“I also owe you an apology for Joan,” Dan grated out. Lucifer’s face, pale with shock, the rookie officer’s blood still on his hands and all over his clothes from where he’d held her as she lay dying was at the forefront of memory. As was the way he just stood there and took every verbal blow Dan aimed at him. “I was way out of line. And I’m sorry.”

Lucifer watched him, dark eyes on Dan’s face with an intent expression. “You were –“ 

“Wrong.” Dan looked Lucifer in the eye. “I was wrong. Julian McCaffery killed her and that’s on him. Not you.” He took another deep breath. “When stuff happens out there, we have to make a call. Sometimes it’s the right call. Sometimes it’s not. And sometimes, things just happen. Bad things to good people. And it’s not right and it’s not fair but that doesn’t mean –“

“Daniel,” this time Lucifer interrupted, continuing to hold eye contact. “Can I speak now?”

“Of course.” Dan braced, ready for a cutting remark or for Lucifer to tell him to go to hell. 

His smile this time was small and quiet as he said, “Apology accepted.” 

Dan blinked. “What? Just…just like that?”

A squeak of excitement drifted out of the forensics lab where Ella was making a decent show of at least holding some sort of dish. Both men turned their heads toward the lab door.

Ella held the instrument to her chest and grinned. “You guys! I’m so happy!” 

Dan sighed. “Ella…”

“Right! Right, yeah.” She bustled into the side lab, giving the two men at least the illusion of privacy.

Lucifer pressed his lips together in an aborted smile before focusing his attention on Dan again. “Daniel, there’s not really anything else to say. You’ve apologized.” He paused. “That’s already more than I ever expected. And I – “ he broke off for a moment before keeping his eyes focused on Dan’s, his gaze as intense as the other man had ever experienced. “I appreciate it.” 

Dan let out a tiny huff of relieved laughter. “Well then. Yeah, man, I guess – that’s what I wanted to say.” 

Lucifer smiled at him, the joy in his eyes incandescent. “Well, then.”

“Yeah.” Dan grinned, the sheer relief unknotting the knots in his back, his shoulders relaxing. “I’m just…just gonna go back to work.”

Lucifer’s smile grew to a grin, mirroring Dan’s. “I won’t keep you, then.” 

Dan practically floated back to his desk, a bounce in his step. He didn’t think it was an exaggeration to say that it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest as he got started on his own case load. But he couldn’t miss Ella’s only slightly muted squeal of excitement as she practically jumped into Lucifer’s arms behind him, “Finally! See, what did I tell you! He’d come around! Did I not tell you?!” 

“So you did.” A pause as Dan resisted the urge to look behind him and let them know he was still listening. “I guess I should have had more faith.” 

“Well – I mean – ” Ella spluttered a tiny bit. “Well, yeah man! You should have faith in your friends!” 

“You were right, Miss Lopez.” Lucifer’s voice was warm and faint, somehow having managed to gently push a subject where Dan had been afraid to tread without invitation.

A delighted giggle. “I think Hell just froze over. Did you just admit that I’m always right?” 

“Mmm. Not sure I’d go that far…” The rest of their conversation trailed off as Dan actively stopped eavesdropping and sat down. 

It looked like everything was gonna be all right.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've labeled this a "missing scene" but I'm actually thinking of it as more of a "translation" of a scene that was extremely abstracted. As much as I loved that dance number, I still wanted to actually hear Dan apologize to Lucifer and see Lucifer's forgiveness of Dan's behavior during Season 4.


End file.
